Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 940

Anathema (15)

“Like I said, there are a few things that the existence of a sanctuary alone can’t explain.”

Whoosh!

The priestess and Lenok were walking through the ruined streets.

The remnants of civilization, shattered by Anathema and the two spear masters, burned by Lenok, and then crushed again by the Apostles.

Lenok, following behind the priestess who held a staff taller than herself, asked,

“I know that even for a high-ranking Apostle or priestess, preparing a sanctuary requires some preparation.”

“So?”

“How did you finish the preparations without even entering the city?”

A sanctuary, as defined by the Guido Order, is the arbitrary construction of a space-time that overlaps with the outer sea, allowing the will of the end to be directly received. [The ‘outer sea’ is a metaphorical realm from which the Order draws its power.]

However, even for a high-ranking Apostle, a great deal of preparation is needed to arbitrarily declare a sanctuary, ignoring the boundaries of the world.

Amrita, the 10th Apostle Lenok had previously faced, would have had difficulty constructing a sanctuary on her own without borrowing the power of revelation.

It was hard to believe that Ureka Naidri, who had just arrived in the satellite city, had completed the preparations for it.

However, Ureka chuckled as soon as she heard Lenok’s words.

“You acted like you knew the previous priestess so well. Don’t you know what was prepared at headquarters?”

“I have had contact with the priestess, but I have never discussed human sacrifice.”

Lenok replied in a calm voice.

“It was an element I couldn’t understand. However… I only understand that she was applying the same standards to herself.”

“……”

“The previous priestess did not refuse to talk to outsiders. But you seem different.”

“I should be the one asking. Why should we treat you like we are the same?”

Ureka retorted nonchalantly.

“There’s no need to treat the morons who will suffer eternally for not following the doctrine.”

“……”

“The answer is right next to you if you just reach out, so why should we respect the lazy people who have given up on even trying?”

Compared to the previous priestess, Seyna Naidri, or even Izel Naidri before her, she had a very extreme nature.

Rather than being twisted by a murderous madness like Peisha, her innate nature was that of an evil person who was extremely biased towards the doctrine.

It was surprising that such a woman had risen to the position of priestess, but on the contrary, it made sense why her awakened power was so great.

An ability user capable of establishing a defensive line using the power to command even mad Apostles as her servants, as well as her own outstanding martial prowess.

She wouldn’t have come to the field herself if she wasn’t confident in her own power.

Lenok asked with a blank face.

“Can I interpret your existence itself as the attitude of the head of the Order towards the Order?”

“Hey, wizard.”

The priestess laughed in a raspy voice.

“It seems like you know a bit about the headquarters, but there’s no point in trying to provoke me.”

“……”

“I already have a headache because of what he said, so wouldn’t it be better if we just finished our business and parted ways?”

“I don’t know.”

Lenok, tilting his head towards Ureka, said,

“Wouldn’t it be meaningful to catch and kill a priestess who commands Apostles?”

Crackle…!

The moment he lightly clenched and opened his hand, thick currents of electricity burst from his fingertips.

It hadn’t been long since the battle with Anathema, yet he had considerable magical power.

This was possible because his magic recovery speed had also increased in proportion to the greatly increased amount of magic power after Lapis’s awakening.

Lightning that turned the surroundings blue with just a brief gesture.

However, Ureka didn’t even raise an eyebrow, even with Lenok’s magic right in front of her.

“In the war with the Alliance, we caught a dirty bug called a substitute sorcerer. He was researching forbidden magic to create substitutes that shared damage.”

Instead, she suddenly started talking about something completely out of the blue.

“Even after cracking his skull open, poking his brain, and inflicting all sorts of torture, he wouldn’t confess the components of the spell. How do you think we stole the spell?”

The priestess gave a soft smile.

“When I brought his sick wife and started the same torture, he started talking like a charm. The existence of the substitute spell itself was research for his wife.”

“……”

“If he hadn’t died right after the torture started, he would have sold out all the information about the leader of the Order Alliance. It was a shame in many ways.”

The existence of the substitute spell obtained from the Order Alliance’s sorcerer.

Was she trying to assert that even if Lenok threatened her with force in this place, the priestess herself was safe?

Ureka, glancing back at Lenok, said leisurely.

“He researched forbidden magic, using other humans as test subjects to protect his family, and then died at the hands of an Apostle who eats humans. That’s about the value of life in this world.”

“……”

“In the end, humans will eventually struggle to survive, even using other humans as expendables. The only difference is what they are aiming for.”

The priestess, stopping in front of Lenok, smiled.

“And the end that this bug-like old man met was nothing more than a similar struggle.”

Thud!

On the outskirts of the satellite city ruins, in a hangar behind the airport facilities that had collapsed due to the fierce battle with the Apostles.

Lenok was silent as he faced the corpse of Oshto Duris, crushed under the cockpit of a mechanical spider.

“About 30 years ago, he made a contract with the Order to save his son, who was the successor to the workshop.”

Thwack!

Ureka, piercing Oshto’s chest with her staff, unhesitatingly began to drag his corpse across the ground.

“He collected the hair of patients suffering from the same disease and cursed them. He shared the disease with other patients so that only his son could be cured.”

Sluuurp…!

The priestess said, smearing the blood from the corpse on the ground like paint.

“I guess he thought he had finished the contract and forgotten about it forever. He thought that since he got what he wanted, he would never be involved again. But…”

Screech!

The priestess, dragging Oshto’s corpse and drawing a blood-stained magic circle, shone with a sinister light.

“The original sin engraved in the soul never disappears. Even if you forget about it for the rest of your life, you will always pay the price when the Order needs it.”

“……”

The reason why the commander mourned the death of Oshto Duris was not because he was truly innocent.

It was because he knew that his death was arranged to be used in this way.

He met a futile death due to his past deeds, and now even his corpse is being desecrated and paying the price without rest.

The moment Lenok frowned at that fact and raised his gaze silently.

The priestess, who had drawn a blood magic circle with Oshto’s blood, placed the corpse in the center of the circle and plunged her staff down.

Crack!

The staff, fitting into the coin-sized hole in his forehead like a key.

The priestess, who had stabbed the staff into the corpse’s head, took a step back and began to form hand seals.

“Ten thousand heavenly gods. Urasinjeo. Batabaebeop. Changryungugyeol.” [These are likely incantations or divine words used in the ritual.]

At the same time as chanting the divine words consisting of four phrases, a fierce holy light swirled around the priestess.

The fierce thoughts of the outer sea, unfolding at an incredible speed that even Lenok was momentarily surprised by.

The priestess, who had completed the ritual in an instant with tremendous talent and aptitude, as if it was hard to believe that she did not have the authority of a priest, pointed her staff.

“Sanctuary Declaration.”

Kwaaaang!!!

A pillar of pale light burst out from the staff and instantly turned the surroundings white.

The Order’s sanctuary, deployed by offering the body and soul of an 8th-level extreme ability user.

The ground beneath their feet turned into white marble, and magnificent pillars of a pantheon rose around them.

A miracle that instantly reversed the space-time that unfolded before Lenok’s eyes.

However, Ureka, standing in front of the sanctuary she had created, took a step back.

She crossed her arms and shrugged, looking at Lenok.

“Having to open a sanctuary for a non-believer who doesn’t even believe in the doctrine is an unpleasant experience I don’t want to repeat.”

“……”

“Go in. What are you doing?”

The priestess gave a fierce smile.

“He wants to see you in person. He cares more about you than me, the priestess, so are you going to refuse his grace?”

She finished her task and revealed her hidden jealousy and contempt without reservation.

Her expression was as if she wanted to kill Lenok right away.

“You better remember this. A miracle like today, where the Order’s priestess moves for a non-believer, will never happen again.”

The priestess stared at Lenok’s back as he stood in front of the sanctuary without saying a word, her eyes gleaming.

As if she was going to remember that sight firmly from now on.

“Be sure to come back alive. Wizard.”

“……I hope so.”

Lenok, quietly responding to Ureka’s blessing that was not a blessing, took a step into the sanctuary.

At the same time, Lenok’s consciousness was also submerged as if being sucked into someone’s memory.

* * *

Waaaaaaaah…!

The faint sound of thousands of cheers and applause echoed in his ears.

The voices of the believers, calling out to someone desperately beyond the temple, praising and begging.

‘Huff, huff…!’

In the midst of such a crowd of believers, the figure of an old man, sweating and trembling.

He passed by the believers who were reciting the doctrine with stiff faces, wearing robes that covered their faces.

The memory of the old man walking down a dark corridor, following a guide after offering a small artifact to a member of the Order.

Lenok was watching the old man’s figure right next to him.

“……”

The memory of Oshto Duris, who came to the Order alone to cure his son’s illness.

Was it because he needed a successor to take over the workshop? Or was it just because he loved his son that much?

A huge door located at the end of a dark corridor where only pale lamps shone.

As the guide stepped back slightly, the old man slowly opened the door and walked inside.

A huge room filled with brilliant white light, completely opposite to the darkness of the corridor.

Whoosh!

Transparent veils emitting a soft light filled the room, fluttering and obscuring the view.

Correction knights in white armor stood on the left and right sides of the room, staring at the old man with indifferent eyes.

The wind blowing past his ears felt cool, even chilling.

The moment Oshto, trembling slightly, knelt down and slowly kissed the cold marble floor.

Whoosh!

The veils parted to the left and right, and an elderly woman in ceremonial robes walked out.

The previous priestess, Izel Naidri. A face that was quite familiar to Lenok as well.

She, who had been possessed by Amrita and died in the Far East Branch, was welcoming Oshto in her memory.

In one hand, she held a circular staff that seemed to imitate a halo, and in the other, she held a pendant engraved with a hexagram.

At her appearance, the correction knights simultaneously knelt on one knee and bowed their heads.

Even the fluttering veils became still, creating the illusion that it was quiet so that her words could be heard clearly.

The time when the Order was most actively expanding. A scene that proved how powerful her authority was as the priestess who performed the role of the high priest.

Izel Naidri, looking at Oshto who had kissed the floor with a blank face, said,

[It is very secular for the Meister [Master Craftsman] of the Arcane Workshop to come here and ask for such a thing.]

‘…….’

[In the sea of fate, human life is like a grain of sand. Your son’s illness is also a destiny that must be accepted, so why do you try to resist it?]

Izel’s voice, who seemed quite old at the time, contained an unbelievably strong energy.

The power and authority of the priestess who led the Order’s heyday, and her pride, were so clear that they felt tangible.

Izel, looking at Oshto who did not answer, shook her head.

[Considering the connection with Trabesh, I will pretend I didn’t hear it this time, so take the artifact you offered to the sanctuary and go back. This is the only mercy that can be given to a non-believer.]

‘……My son.’

At that moment, Oshto said in a heavy voice.

‘My son has much more outstanding talent than I do. He is the child who will lead the workshop instead of the old man who became a craftsman because he was afraid to hold a sword.’

[You are trying to test my patience.]

Izel sighed quietly.

[Even if he is a little more talented, he is just an unblessed fence. Do you think the Order would care about its rise and fall?]

‘…….’

[If you have called yourself a weapon dealer, you must have watched the end of many humans, but you cannot accept the fact that your turn has come.]

‘If it was my turn, I would have endured it as much as possible. But my son…!!’

Oshto cried out as if spitting blood, his head on the floor.

‘It’s not my son. What sin has a child who is not even ten years old committed to have his life taken away?’

[…….]

‘I know there is still time until the end. My son will still have time to live in this world.’

Oshto said, hitting his forehead on the stone floor.

‘That’s enough. So please….’

“……”

The memory of that day when the Order and Oshto made a deal for his son’s life.

However, the attitude of Izel Naidri, who seemed to be trying to dissuade Oshto from his request, was quite interesting.

Although her tone was arrogant, the content itself was closer to advice not to cling to meaningless things.

Unlike her later years when she was obsessed with eternal life and tried to steal the body of an Apostle, was she quite flexible in the past?

[Even a merchant who sells death becomes so weak in the face of family ties. It’s a pathetic thing.]

Izel, clicking her tongue and walking forward, raised her staff.

[Alright. But you must remember that the moment you borrow my power, it will surely return with a greater price someday.]

‘…….’

[This is because you are a non-believer who does not accept the doctrine of the pantheon in your heart, and because you seek power for personal reasons, not for the greater good.]

Crack!

Izel’s eyes shone coldly as she stabbed the end of her staff into the back of Oshto’s head.

[You will regret this choice even in death.]

‘If it is a price that I have to pay with my life and death, I will accept it as much as possible.’

If she put a little more force on the staff that had pierced the back of his head, it seemed like it would pierce through his head and pop out between his eyebrows.

However, even as he watched the blood dripping down his head, Oshto crawled and kissed the feet of the priestess.

Even under the contemptuous gaze of the correction knights watching him in the sanctuary, Oshto stammered.

‘So, God, please save my son.’

It’s ironic.

To watch a deal made between a person who has already been destroyed and two people who had been destroyed.

Also, the fact that the endings of Izel Naidri and Oshto Duris were twisted in a completely different way from this moment.

Izel, who had scolded that human life was meaningless, was painfully killed after dreaming of eternal life by stealing the body of an Apostle.

Oshto Duris, who made a deal with the Order to save his son, left without even realizing that he was dying.

All of that was because the fates of the two people were arbitrarily changed and twisted as needed.

Everything that was promised and destined in this world is altered by those who did not belong to this world.

The reason why this memory is being brought out and shown now is probably to tell Lenok once again about that absurdity.

“Isn’t that right, Head of the Order?”

Lenok asked that, turning his gaze beyond the veil that was swaying behind Izel Naidri.

Her figure, stuck in place as if frozen, with the staff stabbed into the back of Oshto’s head.

The alien scene where Oshto and the other correction knights, who had bowed their heads in the dazzling room, were not moving at all.

However, Lenok was aware from the beginning that this memory itself was a scene unfolded by someone’s will.

Otherwise, the memory of Oshto, who had already died and become a sacrifice for the sanctuary, would not have been reproduced in this place.

The reason why Lenok did not refuse it and watched it without urging it was

Because he knew that this moment itself was the result of a coincidence arranged by fate.

At that moment, a transmission that seemed to pierce Lenok’s mind echoed.

[It is impossible to know which of the pebbles thrown into the lake will reach the other side….]

“……”

[That is why I arrange a promise without a deadline, transcending the past and the future, and try to meet again in reality….]

A faint whisper that seemed to seep out from the back of his head, not his eardrums.

The illusion that the will and transmission of others were deeply emanating from the depths of his heart.

However, Lenok already knew that this was not his inner self, but was echoing from beyond the veil.

The scenery beyond the veil that did not exist in the memory of Oshto Duris.

The secret place of the pantheon that even Izel Naidri herself would never have revealed to him.

However, at the moment when a contract spanning decades was established between the priestess and the non-believer, he was there as evidence and existed.

And once again, he is watching this moment, transcending time and space.

[The moment when each other’s time meets at a crossroads that you cannot even know yourself. I have been waiting for every moment like that….]

Over the tone of voice leaking from beyond the veil, noise mixed and formed the shape of language, and reached Lenok again like this.

Yes, it’s always like this.

The memory of someone who no longer exists.

A sanctuary for someone who exists, engraved in that place even beyond life and death.

In a chance encounter that might not have even started. At the end of a relationship that would not have been encountered if it were not for now.

He is always there, existing alone.

A transcendent being who is dependent on the memories and beliefs of others, yet is freer from the rules of the world than anyone else.

The head of the Order looked down at Lenok and smiled.

[It’s been a while… It might not feel that way to you.]